1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a microfluidic device, and more particularly to a microfluidic device for concentrating and lysing cells or viruses in one chamber and a method of concentrating and lysing cells or viruses using the microfluidic device.
2. Description of the Related Art
A biological analysis process including pathogen detection or molecular diagnosis is composed of target cell separation, cell concentration, biomolecule separation, biomolecule amplification, a hybridization reaction and detection.
Research has been performed on a lab-on-a-chip (“LOC”) in which a series of biologic analysis processes can be performed quickly and automatically on a microchip.
An LOC includes a microfluidic device to perform a biological analysis process. The microfluidic device includes an inlet, an outlet, a reaction chamber and a microchannel connecting the inlet, the outlet and the reaction chamber. The microfluidic device is equipped with a micropump for transferring fluid, a micromixer for mixing fluid, a microfilter for filtering fluid, etc., in addition to the microchannel.
Examples of conventional devices for integrating a biologic analysis process can be found on the Internet.
A conventional integrated system includes a cell counting chamber, a cell sorting chamber, a DNA extraction chamber, a PCR amplification chamber and a detection chamber. The chambers are connected in sequence by a channel. Each of the chambers includes a valve and a pump.
However, when simply connecting devices which carry out biological analysis processes, it is difficult to integrate the devices as one device due to the need for a plurality of valves and microfluidic controllers. Further, the integrated device has a large volume and is expensive.
Therefore, in order to reduce the size of an LOC, as many biological analysis processes as possible should be performed in a single chamber.